Kentucky Lake Seasonal Patterns

Winter: Most common tactics this time of year is to target the ledges with brushpiles or muscle beds. Deep creek bends with stumps and brush where you see bait on your electronics is another good target. Another great structure this time of year is pea gravel points that fall off into 10-20' of water with a carolina rig or shakey head. I like to use a carolina rigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits, or jigs this time of year. A-Rigs are a staple of a lot of fisherman this time of year as well as a spoon or blade bait.

Spring:Prespawn the fish tend to follow the channels towards shallower water and a great way to catch these fish is throwing a rattletrap or shallow crankbait on flats or rocky points or structures near deep water. Another great structure this time of year is pea gravel points. Prespawn I like to throw rouges and crankbaits in shad or crawfish colors. Also, if the grass or bushes get flooded as the water rises fish those covers with a spinnerbait or flipping plastics. A nice rule of thumb with water levels is if the water is rising follow the fish shallow and if it is falling look for the first channels and breaks in 4-6 foot of water. The fish will spawn shallow in 2-4' of water near some form of cover. The smallmouth like the pea gravel points in 4-8' of water to spawn in. In late spring after they have spawned the fish will stay shallow for a short time (though some will stay shallow all year) then they begin to move out to their deeper water haunts. By Memorial Day weekend typically the fish are moving to channel ledges and points with deeper water. We have lost a lot of our grass on Kentucky lake in the Paris, TN area but if you can find some there will surely be bass in the area as well.

Summer:Good electronics and understanding of your electronics are important this time of year. They are moving out onto the ledges and points now near deep water and they can be vital to finding the fish. I like to use crankbaits, carolina rigs, and jigs this time of year. Look for ledges with bait or some irregularity to find fish this time of year. Muscle beds seem to be an important key on any ledges or humps this time of year. Current determines how well the fish will bite right now so look for wind and generation schedules to plan your trips.

Fall:Following the bait becomes very important now and always be looking for signs of shad (gulls, birds, flipping tails, etc.). You will find the fish scattered somewhat this time of year. They will be shallow and deep and the weather tends to decide what the best tactics will be. Just go fishing and let the fish tell you what to do. I fish Kentucky Lake this time of year much like I do the Spring. Small crankbaits and run and gun are good options til find the fish. Topwaters can be great this time of year, too!

Lures to Use:Spinnerbait: I like double willow leaf blade in white and chartreuse tints at Kentucky Lake. I have had some really good luck with smaller baits and blades at times here. Whites with purple or chartruese hints are great color choices. Gold blades seem to attract Kentucky L bass as well.Rattletraps and Shallow Crankbaits - early spring you just can't beat this bait for locating fish and searching flats. I like to use a chrome with blue back but sometimes you just experiment with colors and may find a better one. I also like shad colors or chartreuses in shallow crankbaits. Also, in the fall when chasing shad this can be a great choice.Jigs - I use jigs to probe creek channels and brushpiles. This is a slower technique for when the bass aren't chasing. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and white based on conditions.Plastics - A carolina rig or texas rigged lizard or creature bait is another good choice when bass aren't chasing baits. Use a texas rigs creature bait to flip around timber and shallow brush. When searching points or creek channels it is hare to beat a carolina rig to cover water quickly and eliminate unproductive areas. Colors are black and blue, green pumpkin and chartreuse, and purples based on water conditions. A shakee head is another productive plastic.Crankbaits - these like rattletraps are great search baits that allow you to cover lots of water and look for those key areas. Most people like chartreuse and blue, sexy shad, or other shad patterns. These will allow you to cover long sections of ledges quickly.

Shallow Ledges

Here is a good smallie caught in September that was in the middle of the lake on a shallow ledge chasing Shad. Searching for activity is a big part of catching fish this time of year. I caught this one swimming a white jig after I saw it chasing shad.

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